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Bihar official booked for corruption

A government official in Bihar was on Thursday charged for owning disproportionate assets after raids conducted by the State Vigilance found properties worth crores of rupees.

Girish Kumar, motor vehicle inspector (MVI), posted in Darbhanga district, was found to own movable and immovable assets worth Rs.4.5 crore, using conservative estimates. At market rate, the value of his properties is worth much more. Mr. Kumar owned immovable property worth Rs.80.74 lakh, whereas his total income from 1995, when he was appointed as MVI, to 2013, amounted to Rs.34.61 lakh, Director General Vigilance P.K. Thakur said.

Mr. Kumar siphoned off his ill-gotten money into his wife’s tyre business. Apart from his declared assets, the department found ownership of 11 acres of land in his family members’ names in addition to 10 Tata buses belonging to the entire family. A number of concerns registered in his wife’s name include apartments, flats, a plaza and complex, a petrol pump and godowns, and a petrol pump in both Patna and Nalanda districts. Similarly, his son is also found to be owning a transport firm in Patna.

Moreover, one tyre shop at Patna with a turnover of Rs. six crore, nine trucks and 16 buses were also found in his and his family’s names.

The Vigilance department has charged Mr. Kumar under Section 13 (1) (e) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act pertaining to disproportionate assets.